What I've Learned From Cancer

Having breast cancer has been an unexpected learning experience. Here are some of the things I've learned.

• Support comes from surprising places. Some people disappoint. More importantly, some people surprise. My son's basketball team showed their support by wearing pink socks and sweat bands at the first ball game (and they won). That also happened to be the day I had surgery.


• More people are diagnosed now with breast cancer than in the past. Fewer people die from breast cancer than in the past.


• Lumpectomy has been renamed Breast Conservation Surgery. (For whatever reason, that seems funny and peculiar to me.)


• Cancer can be random, familial or genetic.


• There is one lab in the country that does testing to see if cancer is genetic in your family. It's in Salt Lake City. Even though my sister and I were both diagnosed this year, it is not genetic in either of us.
• It's possible to have breast cancer in other parts of your body!
• You can have from 400-1000 lymph nodes in your body.


• Surgery to remove lymph nodes can cause nerve damage. However, nerves will slowly regenerate over time!


• Radiation treatment is now done in a matter of 2-3 minutes.

Thanks to my friends and family that have been so supportive through this "adventure". And thanks to the faithful who consistently pray for cancer patients.

Favorite Web Sites

Would love to trade favorite websites with you. A few of my favorites are:

slickdeals -Really great this time of year. It has a list of "deals" on items that many of us are searching for. Clearance sales at Banana Republic, Gap, Aripostle. Then the deals on electronic items, Nintendo DS, Plasma TV's, computer moniters. They often include a special coupon or code that will get you an additional discount or free shipping.

heyitsfree - I've stashed some fun stocking stuffers for my family from this site. Warning - does get you some added spam email. Remember you can "unsubscribe" to these.

sporcle - Just a fun time waster. This one has a virtual plethora of quizzes that take a few minutes to complete. It will increase your inventory of useless trivia.

people of Walmart This one is scary. The fact that people go out in public like this is frightening. Walmart is considered public isn't it??? It could also be titled What not to Wear.

Eisenlauer Team -Still the best place to find your favorite Polk County Realtors and their current listings. Call Bill at 770-2455 or Bob at 979-2883.

Don't Stay Home This Weekend!

There are always SOOO many things to do- events to attend. I'm going to suggest a few things for this weekend.

In Pleasant Hill tomorrow - Grand Opening of Batter's Box, an indoor batting facility. From 10:00am - 2:00 pm there will be refreshments and an opportunity to try out your swing in their batter's box. Also a drawing for two tickets to the Iowa/Minnesota football game.

At the Pleasant Hill Youth Center in Doanes' Park there will be a vendor fair with benefits goint to Juvenile Diabetes. This will be a great time to shop early for Christmas gifts as well as bake sale items for immediate enjoyment. 50 gift baskets with different themes will also be for sale.

A friend of ours, Stephen Roney is opening a new tanning salon in the Drake area. Stephen and his girlfriend, both business students at Drake are planning Grand Opening activites for Sat. Nov.14. The spa is located next to the Starbucks - 1315 32nd St. and is called Sunsation Spa. Come by Sat. 9am - 8pm. for free tanning. They also offer Rejuvasun - light-therapy sessions.

Sunday at the Des Moines Social Club - 1408 Locust St. between 10:00-4:00 there will be a Green Gifts Fair. Another place to look for gifts for members on your receiving list. There will be items made from recycled sweaters, silverware, soap and more.

TAX CREDIT EXTENDED

This is GOOD news for a lot of people and should keep the real estate market moving along here in the Des Moines area. Congress has passed the Home Buyer Tax Credit extension and President Obama is expected to sign the bill Friday. Also a $6500 tax credit for current home owners (owned home for 5 consecutive years) moving to a different house is expected to be signed. There are a lot of quetions answered here and here . Want to start looking for a new home?? Call the Eisenlauer Team. Bill Eisenlauer at 770-2455 or Bob Eisenlauer at 979-2883

Grandview Park Baptist Football Plays in Substate

The Grandview Park Baptist Defenders football team have qualified to play Wedneday night in the substate game. Unfortunatley - these teams are spread far across the state so we are traveling to Harmony Iowa, 143 miles from Des Moines. We hoping to leave a little early and do a little Iowa exploring through some small Iowa towns. One not so small, and very interesting - Fairfield. We might have some organic foods, try a bit of leviatating to get in the mood for watching the Defenders kick butt at Harmony! It seems wrong for a team from "harmony" being too vicious! Picture is from Sr. Night, last Friday.

Senior Night At the Football Game

Child No. 3 will be honored tonite at the Grandview Park Baptist football game, along with many of his teammates. It's hard to imagine how quickly 18 years pass when you look back. Way to go John, and kick butt tonite!

Breast Cancer Awareness Hits Home

October is Breast Cancer Awareness. It's hard to miss, most stores have displays of pink items for sale. It's been hard to ignore in my family. My sister was diagonsed with breast cancer in August and has been waging a tough battle through the treatments issued by her doctors. Of course she urged my to get my mammogram, and I did. Found out this week that I too have breast cancer. I'm grateful that the options for treatment have progressed to where they are, but there's still research to be done. Thanks to all the people who give to research and to the faithful people who pray for cancer patients.